The Tammy Story- go for it?
Apr. 6th, 2006 01:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thehefnerMom seriously thinks I should just submit the Tammy story (that is to say, parts one, two, three, four, five, and six) as one single work. By which I mean, NOT as part of a larger, much bigger Hefner Monologues book as I currently have it planned.
She and Gordon (Gordon amazingly, the man whose highest compliment comes in the form of "Mwell, not bad") have said that Tammy is a "magical" character. She is utterly enthralling, a marvelous person to read about, and whether it's the person or how I write about her (both, I suppose), the end result is a person who, for all her very human faults... is "magical." Mom and Gordon are afraid that if this is just a story that's going to be followed by the much bigger stories of my father, of Dave, of Misty, that Tammy's going to be overwhelmed and drowned out. And I think they're absolutely right.
I've run it by Kevin, Katie, and Bloo, all of whom agree that the Tammy Hefner Monologue could work as a single story. Now to my mind, I don't entirely know how it reads on its own (as a whole from all the parts I posted above). I was writing the entire book with the overreaching theme not to tell the stories, but to explore why I tell these stories, you see? So the Tammy story, to me, feels like... like it doesn't "accomplish" much. I worry that as it stands, it's just more like an anecdote. What do you guys think?
Another problem is that it's too short to be a book. A novella, probably. But not a book, and I haven't really idea idea how to flesh it out or what I could add. Still, Mom thinks I should submit it to the agency that turned down my detective novel. I have to say, I really think my literary livelihood rests in the Hefner Monologues. Should I go for it, even as it stands now?
And if it does go through, particularly as one main "Tammy" volume, I am definitely gonna need to get in touch with her to get written permission to use her real first name. I mean, ok, I'll have to change several names as it stands, without question, but I think it's really important that Tammy be Tammy. I mean, it's the same deal with Misty, what other name could possibly suit either of them so perfectly? Dad thinks Tammy would be embarrassed by the story and urges me to change the name, while Mom and I both think she'd really like it, perhaps even be touched. I found out that she has a myspace page, so if I have to I can always end up going there, but I'd rather avoid that if I can help it. I'm fairly certain she wants to keep me as a sentimental memory, and she's still capable of giving me heartburn at times, so I think we both would rather keep any further contact between us to a minimum.
But all that is a worry I should address until after I've come up with a great, sellable final product. Which may be what I, more or less, already have.
Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions?
She and Gordon (Gordon amazingly, the man whose highest compliment comes in the form of "Mwell, not bad") have said that Tammy is a "magical" character. She is utterly enthralling, a marvelous person to read about, and whether it's the person or how I write about her (both, I suppose), the end result is a person who, for all her very human faults... is "magical." Mom and Gordon are afraid that if this is just a story that's going to be followed by the much bigger stories of my father, of Dave, of Misty, that Tammy's going to be overwhelmed and drowned out. And I think they're absolutely right.
I've run it by Kevin, Katie, and Bloo, all of whom agree that the Tammy Hefner Monologue could work as a single story. Now to my mind, I don't entirely know how it reads on its own (as a whole from all the parts I posted above). I was writing the entire book with the overreaching theme not to tell the stories, but to explore why I tell these stories, you see? So the Tammy story, to me, feels like... like it doesn't "accomplish" much. I worry that as it stands, it's just more like an anecdote. What do you guys think?
Another problem is that it's too short to be a book. A novella, probably. But not a book, and I haven't really idea idea how to flesh it out or what I could add. Still, Mom thinks I should submit it to the agency that turned down my detective novel. I have to say, I really think my literary livelihood rests in the Hefner Monologues. Should I go for it, even as it stands now?
And if it does go through, particularly as one main "Tammy" volume, I am definitely gonna need to get in touch with her to get written permission to use her real first name. I mean, ok, I'll have to change several names as it stands, without question, but I think it's really important that Tammy be Tammy. I mean, it's the same deal with Misty, what other name could possibly suit either of them so perfectly? Dad thinks Tammy would be embarrassed by the story and urges me to change the name, while Mom and I both think she'd really like it, perhaps even be touched. I found out that she has a myspace page, so if I have to I can always end up going there, but I'd rather avoid that if I can help it. I'm fairly certain she wants to keep me as a sentimental memory, and she's still capable of giving me heartburn at times, so I think we both would rather keep any further contact between us to a minimum.
But all that is a worry I should address until after I've come up with a great, sellable final product. Which may be what I, more or less, already have.
Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions?
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-07 04:12 pm (UTC)If I could find classes or programs run by more geeky people rather than tweed-coat-wearing snobs of "high literature," I think I would benefit far more. As it stands, I get some technical help, sure, but not enough to justify me spending the time, energy, and money in a class like that.
It actually *is* a very common school of thought among writers to improve my constant reading and writing. In fact, I think it's almost universal, isn't it?
no subject
Date: 2006-04-07 05:30 pm (UTC)DFW has done great work, both fiction and non, on why and how pop culture is a mainstay, an undeniable and critical part of our environment... in much the same way that an automobile was an inseperable and non-corrosive part of the Great Gatsby or On the Road. Refuting traditional MFA profs of yesteryear who think today's hipsters' referencing of mass media and televisual culture is somehow gimmicky, he rejects with incredible deftness and insouciance--the sheer raw force of his ideas paired with a mastery of writing that probably trumps his most esteemed mentors--the notion that Alf, Captain America, and Homer Simpson are any more dating (ie, less timeless), any less a part of our genuine environment, than the factory, the automobile, or anything that isn't simply two people speaking in an empty space (what such purity of environment can be found these days?!? and what are the implications of holding onto such falsities when fiction and writing is at least in part supposed to comment on our condition???)...
I can't recommend any writer more highly than I recommend David Foster Wallace. Seriously. What I wouldn't do to train under his tutelage.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-07 05:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-07 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-07 05:48 pm (UTC)and just in case you ever change your mind, never pay for an mfa program. if they don't take you with a grant or fellowship or assistantship of some sort, it's definitely not worth the investment.
and finally, never go to a course just to get editing help. it helps to have your stuff not in need of much edit, if you're serious about wanting to be able to get published... but that's what editors are for, and considering an mfa simply to get your editorial ducks in a row would be cRaZyTaLk.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-07 06:00 pm (UTC)Still, I'm gonna focus my mfa, if and when I get to that, on drama. Becaue I seriously need more training there. All that above is great advice, I'll definitely be keeping all that in mind should the time come.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-07 06:04 pm (UTC)best of luck in all your pursuits.